Episode 311: Robyn Ludwick Returns!

hello my friends! i hope life is treating you well! summer is now a mere memory. i feel like i didn't really get into summer like i have over the last two years. not one pool party. i went to the beach with the family. so, i guess for one weekend i was fully-immersed in summer and summertime activities. oh well, it's fall now i'll tell you. it's cooler outside. i'm going to run at 9:30 am which is something you can't really do in the summer in texas because it's already too hot by then. however, with this new fall coolness, i'll be doing things after 9 am that i could only dream of doing in august. "seasons change. people change" - expose'my guest for episode 311 is incredibly talented singer/songwriter, robyn ludwick! this is robyn's second time on the show. i saw that she put out a dark and beautiful new album this summer called, little rain so i invited her back in for another round of verbal ballet. it turns out she's been mentoring a young lady from houston, she toured europe this summer... with her family, she toured australia and even played some prisons down there. we talk about all of that and much, much more. i love robyn. she is an amazing songwriter that tells very dark and twisted stories in a beautiful and haunting way. enjoy our talk. i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 297: Carry Illinois

hello friends! i am back from beach weekend 2014. it's not easy to come back from the beach after being there with family, living the dream, swimming in the ocean with baby cousins, hanging out on a porch shooting the shit and everything else that comes with a family weekend at a beach house on the beach. also, i completely unplugged from computer/phone/social media etc and i feel great. this episode is brought to you by the soundtrack series podcast. there will be a live recording this saturday, august 9th at the nd at 8pm. find out all about it at www.soundtrackseries.com also, i'll be at strange brew in austin, tx tonight continuing my residency. my guests will be cory glaeser from sheboygan and SKYROCKET! and kurt neumann from the bodeans! the fun starts at 8.my guest for episode 297 is lizzy lehman from the band, carry illinois! i met lizzy at a show a few weeks ago. i checked out her stuff online and invited her on the show. she's been a solo folk artist for the last few years. she put out a couple of albums here and in portland. now she's got a band. she's taking her folk jams to a rock place with her new band, carry illinois. we have a great conversation about growing up in illinois, leaving for college in portland, finding her musical voice, moving to austin and putting together a band and everything in between. i hope you enjoy getting to know lizzy. i sure did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 291: Charlie Mars

hello friends! i hope your summer is filled with summer fun! it's about to be really be summer for me. in a couple of weeks, SKYROCKET! will be off for three weeks. i know. the band is always going, but we're actually taking a break. i'll still be playing tuesdays at strange brew. i'm going to the beach for the first few days and of course i'll be doing some podcasting, but i'm going to be doing some writing and recording as well. i played strange brew last night with aj vallejo and kendall beard. it was a fun show! i'm looking forward to playing next tuesday with salim nourallah and jason blum. come out!my guest for episode 291 is singer/songwriter, charlie mars! i met charlie about a decade ago when we were on the same tour. you might know him from his tours with r.e.m., the dixie chicks, bob schneider, or his song "listen to the darkside" which features mary louise parker in the video or his relelntless solo touring. anyway, charlie was in town doing some shows a few weeks ago. i went over to our mutual friend, andy's house and talked about growing up a misfit in mississippi, finding himself through music, making albums, touring working with tchad blake, jim scott and billy harvey determination to be the best and much, much more. his amazing new album, the money, comes out october 14th 2014. i had a good time getting to know charlie. you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 290: Jess Klein Returns! / Dr. Ellen Jefferson from Austin Pets Alive!

hello friends! i am writing you, appropriately, with my dogs laying their heads on my lap. it's an amazing feeling. i don't live with my dogs anymore, but i share custody with their mom since we broke up and when she goes out of town, i stay with them and we have a blast. anyway, they're big dogs and they're rescues. they've brought their mom and me more joy than you can imagine. on the show today, i have a quick conversation with dr. ellen jefferson form austin pets alive!. i was asked to be in their "music and mutts" campaign and after i did the photo shoot, dr. jefferson asked me if i would want a tour of the facility. i did. i was touched and amazed by the hard work put in by all of the staff and volunteers and what they were able to pull off being funded by the community. i invited dr. jefferson over to explain what austin pets alive! does and what we, as a community can do to keep austin a "no-kill" city and what you can do to make your city a "no kill" city. check it out. go to austinpetsalive.org to find out how YOU can get involved.my guest for episode 290 is singer/songwriter, jess klein! jess was on the show a couple of years ago when she released, behind a veil. well, she's just released her toughest album to date, learning faith. the album was inspired by klein's relentless quest for spritual truth. the album's sound and subject matter are her toughest to date. jess stopped by and we talked about the album, being inspired by protesting along side wendy davis last summer, romance, touring, staying inspired and much, much more. she's out on tour of the southeast right now! check out jessklein.com to get the record and to find out when she's coming to a town near you! jess and i always have entertaining conversations. i hope you enjoy it as much as i did. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 289: The Mastersons

hello summertime lovers! i hope you're all recovered from 4th of july weekend. i am. i had a good weekend. went to a wedding, played, wrote a song and watched some movies. my residency at strange brew continues tonight at 8 pm. my guests are daisy and graham wilkinson. i'm looking forward to it. i'm excited to play a song with each of them. if you're in austin tonight, tuesday, july 8th, come out to strange brew at 8pm and check out some great songwriters in the flesh. here's the deets... https://www.facebook.com/events/843999768946114/my guests for episode 289 are the amazing duo, the mastersons! you might know chris and eleanor from being members of steve earle's band, the dukes. they've also spent this summer opening for and performing with steve earle and the dukes. their second album, the incredibly gorgeous, good luck charm, comes out today! i highly recommend it. anyway, chris and eleanor came by back in may and we sat down and talked about, making good luck charm in l.a. with jim scott, writing songs, working as a couple as side people and front people, and much, much more. i really liked getting to know the mastersons. i know you will too. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 281: Ashley Monical

hello friends! i hope you're all well. i just got back from new york yesterday and i feel like crap. i think i have some sort of summer cold or just full-blown city exhaustion. i had a great time out there. played a couple of shows with SKYROCKET!, saw a bunch of friends, did a podcast, walked about 80,000 miles, stayed in the nice part of town and stayed in the ghetto... i had the city experience without ever even getting in a subway. hey! we have a live podcast recoding coming up THIS tuesday, june 17th, 2014 at 8 pm at strange brew in austin, tx. my guest will be, funnyman, charlie hodge, amazing singer/songwriter, graham wilkinson and one of my favorite bands around, sphynx! all of these folks have been on the show and are incredibly entertaining. you should come out, get involved and be a part of "how did i get here?".my guest for episode 281 is the talented and entertaining, ashley monical! i saw a video of ashley's on facebook and i thought it was so good, that i asked her to come on the show and tell me her story. well, it turns out, it's a great story about world travel, following a dream she had since she was a child, american idol, making music, writing songs, making records and finding her unique and beautiful voice on her own. i really enjoyed getting to know ashley. i'm sure you will too. ciao! -jg

Episode 280: Live at Strange Brew 2: Trish Murphy, Jazz Mills, Elizabeth Mcqueen and Suzanna Choffel

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am getting it together to leave to new york at 6 am for a couple of shows with SKYROCKET! and while i'm there, i'll be doing a couple of podcasts which you'll be hearing soon. anyway, if you're in nyc, come out to the hill country bar b que in manhattan and see SKYROCKET! saturday, june 7th at 9pm. also, while i'm on the promo train, come out to strange brew in austin, tx on tuesday june 17th where we will be recording a live "how did i get here? podcast with our very special guests, funny man charlie hodge, singer/songwriter graham wilkinson and the amazing band, sphynx! there's no cover and a good time will be had by all. speaking of live podcasts from strange brew...my guests for episode 280 "live at strange brew 2" are trish murphy, jazz mills, elizabeth mcqueen and suzanna choffel! we did this live this past tuesday and we had a blast. we heard a childhood radio recording from trish and her siblings from when she was 5 years old, we found out jazz mill has gotten into managing bands, we found out that elizabeth mcqueen has started several bands and we found out that suzanna choffel made her pledge music video with my ex-wife. awkward? listen and find out as i get to the bottom of things like "frenemies" etc. we had a great time. thanks to everyone who came out and thank you to the ladies for making this a great conversation. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 280: Live at Strange Brew 2: Trish Murphy, Jazz Mills, Elizabeth Mcqueen and Suzanna Choffel

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am getting it together to leave to new york at 6 am for a couple of shows with SKYROCKET! and while i'm there, i'll be doing a couple of podcasts which you'll be hearing soon. anyway, if you're in nyc, come out to the hill country bar b que in manhattan and see SKYROCKET! saturday, june 7th at 9pm. also, while i'm on the promo train, come out to strange brew in austin, tx on tuesday june 17th where we will be recording a live "how did i get here? podcast with our very special guests, funny man charlie hodge, singer/songwriter graham wilkinson and the amazing band, sphynx! there's no cover and a good time will be had by all. speaking of live podcasts from strange brew...my guests for episode 280 "live at strange brew 2" are trish murphy, jazz mills, elizabeth mcqueen and suzanna choffel! we did this live this past tuesday and we had a blast. we heard a childhood radio recording from trish and her siblings from when she was 5 years old, we found out jazz mill has gotten into managing bands, we found out that elizabeth mcqueen has started several bands and we found out that suzanna choffel made her pledge music video with my ex-wife. awkward? listen and find out as i get to the bottom of things like "frenemies" etc. we had a great time. thanks to everyone who came out and thank you to the ladies for making this a great conversation. let's get down!ciao! -jg

Episode 277: Amy LaVere & Will Sexton

hello friends of nature! i hope you're all living high on the hog and other weird phrases that i don't understand. i'm good. i had a weekend of playing with SKYROCKET!. we played a graduation party and the next night we played comicpalooza in houston. good times. i'm about to go over some songs because i'm sitting in with the great jeff plankenhorn tonight at strange brew. i'm looking forward to it. he's having me out because i'm taking over his tuesday residency this summer. i'm doing a couple of live podcasts in june and then playing and hosting a music showcase night in july and august. yes!!! if you live in austin, you should come out to our live podcast recording on tuesday, june 3rd at strange brew in austin. my guests will be suzanna choffel, trish murphy, jazz mils and elizabeth mcqueen. come out and be a part of this show!my guests for episode 277 are the amazingly talented amy lavere and will sexton! amy is a songwriter and amazing stand-up bass player. her new album, runaway's diary just came out today on archer records. the album is absolutely gorgeous. amy and will came by before they head out to the u.k. and the mid-west and west coast for a record release tour. i just met amy a few months ago and heard her and will play and i thought the sound that they made was beautiful. so, i reached out and finally got her in to find out what she's all about. will is a dear old friend of mine (almost 30 years) and one of the musicians/people that respect most in this world. they came by and we got into the whole thing, being a tour guide at sun studios, making records, touring as a couple and much, much more. i hope you enjoy our conversation as much as i did.ciao! -jg

Episode 276: Steve Poltz Returns!

hello friends! i hope you're all doing well. i am. i'm up early today doing laundry and running some errands before i leave town for a couple of days of shows with SKYROCKET!. in fact, if you live in houston, we'll be playing at comic-palooza tomorrow, may 24th 2014. it takes place in the george r. brown convention center. check it out. also, we have a line-up for our live podcast on tuesday, june 3rd at strange brew in austin, tx... we have suzanna choffel, trish murphy, elizabeth mcqueen and jazz mills! it starts at 8 pm and you can find out more about it here, https://www.facebook.com/events/680060505377188/ come out and be a part of our show! my guest for episode 176 is the one and only, steve poltz! steve is one of the most amazing performers/songwirters i have ever seen. hanging out with gets you fired up to do creative things. we got together last year during sxsw and had an amazing conversation that got a lot of response from you listeners. well, steve and i got together again a couple of days ago and went for a walk around the lake and recorded it! we had a great conversation about losing loved ones, not having kids, what it takes to write a song, what to do after gigs, his new album, the accident, his amazing new song, "folk singer" and much, much more. theres some ambient trail and road noise sometimes, but it's like you're on a walk with steve and i. i hope you enjoy our walk as much as i did.ciao! -jg